Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
PAINT PAIL PUMP AND DISPENSING METHOD
Williams et al.
This invention is in the field of paint application systems and methods and
more
specifically details a paint pail pump for use in the dispensing of paint and
similar
viscous materials into applicator trays and the like, for use in simplified
residential and
commercial applications.
Background:
As in the case of many construction and building finishing trades, there is
consistent
desire for enhanced efficiency and improved cost structures to provide ability
for the
delivery of services by tradespeople in a cost-efficient and mechanically
effective
manner. This extends to the field of painting ¨ specifically painting of
walls, and other
building surfaces and the like ¨ which would typically be affected by the use
of rollers or
brushes in conjunction with a paint application container such as a tray or
the like.
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One of the ways for a professional, or amateur, painter to achieve some cost
efficiency in
their work i.e. to lower the cost of painting, is to be able to purchase
larger quantities of
paint or similar products. More often than not, higher volume and larger
volume
containers of inputs such as paint and similar products are sold at a lower
unit cost,
resulting in the ability to lower the cost of materials in a painting job. For
example paint
is often sold in 5 gallon bulk pail containers, in addition to the standard 1
gallon pail
which many people would be aware of, and if a particular painting job calls
for 25
gallons of paint, five bulk pails, rather than 25 1 gallon pails could result
in a substantial
cost savings which can be passed on to the customer or in some way reflected
in the cost
structure of the job delivered by the painter.
One of the issues associated with the use of larger bulk containers in pails
and painting
applications however is that they are more difficult to manipulate and
maneuver on-site.
Typically the way that manual painting is done is that the paint is poured
into applicator
trays which are used by human painters along with brushes, rollers and the
like to paint
the walls or other surfaces being painted in a job, and it would be necessary
in the case of
a larger format bulk pail of paint to be able to manipulate the bulk pail and
dispense the
paint or other similar viscous material into trays or smaller carry containers
while
minimizing the likelihood of spillage and waste as well as minimizing the
likelihood of
injury for the user. The most basic conventional means of dispensing paint
from a 5
gallon pail, consisting of manually tipping the pail to dispense paint either
through a top
hole or along the open top edge of the pail, will often result in splashing
and spillage. An
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enhanced method of dispensing paint from a large bulk format pail into
applicator trays
and the like would it is believed to be positively commercially accepted in
the
marketplace.
Most prior art attempts at the use of large-format paint pails and similar
containers center
around the installation of an electric pump into the open cap hole of the 5
gallon pail, and
the subsequent use of the electrical pump to dispense paint from the pail into
the desired
containers, or in other cases the 5 gallon or large-format bulk pail is
actually fastened into
a spraying or applicator system. The limitations to the use of these types of
products
limits them to jobsites having electricity available as well as those all been
quite
expensive and so smaller painting companies and individual painters would not
always be
able to have these products available to them. Applicator systems such as
these often are
also only useful in quite large jobsites, so they would not be potentially
very desirable for
use in smaller painting environments.
If it were possible to provide a large-format paint pail or similar container
which
incorporated a low-cost dispenser pump which would allow for quick use and low-
cost
deployment of a dispensing method to allow for the clean, streamlined and safe
dispensing of paint or similar viscous materials into paint applicator trays
or containers,
minimizing the likelihood of injury, spillage and the like, it is believed
that this would be
a significant commercial development.
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Summary of the invention:
The invention comprises a large-format paint container with an integrated
manually
actuated piston pump, allowing for the rapid and safe dispensing of paint from
the pail
into paint applicator trays or the like. The pump itself would be manufactured
of
materials of low enough cost that it could be integrated into the pails at the
time of sale
on a disposable basis if necessary, or in other embodiments could be a
freestanding
manually actuated piston pump which could be specifically designed for use in
a paint
pail and to engage the spout opening of a paint pail such that it could be
reinstalled in
subsequent pails to achieve the same objective.
Manually actuated piston pumps are known in the art but have not been used in
a paint
pump dispensing application. These types of pumps act much like an air suction
device,
that draws the product from the pail to a dispensing spout despite the laws of
gravity
telling it to do the opposite. When a user presses down on an actuator on the
top of the
pump, a piston inside of a downward reaching tube moves to compress a spring,
and
upper air pressure draws a ball upwards along with product inside the tube. As
the
actuator is released the spring returns the piston and actuator into their
opposition and the
ball into its resting position, sealing the chamber and preventing the product
from flowing
back down the tube into the pail. The first cycle will prime the pump and when
the user
then actuates the actuator again, the product already in the chamber will be
drawn from
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the chamber and dispensed out of the pump. The amount of priming required may
vary
depending upon the size of the chamber within the pump. In any event manually
actuated
piston pumps such as described are known in the art and will be understood and
any type
of manually actuated piston pump either fixedly manufacturer attached on the
lid of a
paint pail, or manufactured in a way that it can be attached to the pre-
existing spout
opening of a paint pail will be understood to be contemplated within the scope
of the
present invention.
Many manually actuated piston pumps have a locked position, where the piston
can be
locked in a downward position with the actuator at the bottom of its stroke,
for shipping
or transport or storage purposes. Typically then the actuator or the spout is
turned to
disengage the threaded lock and allow the spring and the piston to move into
their upper
position for subsequent actuation. It is specifically contemplated that the
pump of the
present invention would in most embodiments include such a locked transport or
storage
position, allowing for a safer and more compact transportation of a large-
format paint pail
with a manually actuated piston pump as described incorporated therein.
The manually actuated piston pump, as is known in the art in other industries
and for the
dispensing of other types of products from different types of containers,
would be used
by a painter to draw paint from the pail into an applicator container such as
a tray. The
downward intake tube of the piston pump would be designed in a way that it
would be
positioned in close proximity to the interior bottom surface of the pail, such
that nearly all
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of the pain could be withdrawn from the pail using the pump, and by drawing
paint from
the bottom of the pail rather than the top, the necessity for constant
stirring of the product
could be avoided also since the stirred product at the bottom of the pail
would always be
the product which was taken up by the pump.
The downward intake tube with the piston pump could either be manufactured of
the
proper length to always position itself in proximity to the interior bottom
surface of a pail
of a particular size or manufacture, or could have a collapsible bottom
section which
would allow the distal end of the downward intake tube to collapse towards the
upper
portion of the pump and position itself in appropriate position in relation to
the interior
bottom surface of the pail. Both such approaches are contemplated within the
scope of
the present invention.
In addition to the manually actuated piston pump for use in the dispensing of
paint from a
paint pail, as outlined above and below, there is also disclosed another
embodiment of the
invention comprising a large-format paint container with a preinstalled
integrated
manually actuated piston pump. This integrated pump and container system could
be sold
in a bulk format filled with paint or similar viscous material requiring
dispensing, and the
integrated pump could be manufactured in a way that it was disposable along
with the
remainder of the pail for recycling or the like.
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A method of dispensing paint from a large-format paint pail with a
preinstalled integrated
manually actuated pump is also disclosed, which method comprises positioning
the paint
pail in relation to a container to receive paint from a spout thereof, and
manually
actuating the pump to first prime the pump and then dispense paint or similar
viscous
material from the spout of the pump into the adjacent or positioned receiving
container.
The downward extending intake tube of the piston pump would be positioned in
proximity and relation to the interior bottom surface of the pail, such that
the majority of
the paint or similar material contained within the pail could be dispensed
using the pump.
The last bit of paint or material from the pail could be manually evacuated
from the pail
by simply manually pouring it into an adjacent container, or paint could be
used from the
pail itself to use up the small amount that would be left in the base of the
pail.
Description of the Drawings:
To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most
significant
digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that
element is
first introduced. The drawings enclosed are:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the integrated paint pail
and
pump system disclosed, with the pump in its collapsed transport position;
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Figure 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 1 with the pump in
its
extended dispensing position;
Figure 3 is a cutaway side view of the embodiment of Figure 2 along line 3-3;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a fittable paint pail pump
for
use in conjunction with a large-format paint pail as outlined elsewhere
herein;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a fittable paint
pail
pump demonstrating a collapsible downward reaching tube to allow for
accommodation of paint pails of differing depths; and
Figure 6 is a flowchart demonstrating the steps in one embodiment of a paint
dispensing method in accordance with the invention.
Detailed Description of Illustrated Embodiments:
As outlined throughout, the present invention comprises a combined paint
storage and
dispensing system consisting of a large-format pail with a manually actuated
piston pump
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therein, which piston pump can be used to dispense paint from the pail and two
smaller
application containers, trays and the like. The downward reaching intake tube
of the
pump will be positioned in proximity to the interior bottom surface of the
pail, allowing
for dispensing of most of the paint stored within the pail using the pump.
Referring first to Figure 1 there is shown an exemplary embodiment of a large-
format
paint pail 1 incorporating a manually actuated piston pump 2 as disclosed.
Figure 1 is a
perspective view of the combination of the pump 2 and the pail I, with the
interior
components of the piston pump inside of the pail shown in dotted relief. The
actuator 3 of
the piston pump is locked in the closed or storage position.
The pail I which is shown in this Figure includes in its lid 4 a recess 5
within which the
actuator 3 of the piston pump 2 can be accommodated when in its locked storage
or
transport position. This would allow for the stacking of paint pails I that
incorporated the
pump 2 of the present invention. It will be understood however that in other
circumstances it may be desired to simply implement the manually actuated
piston pump
2 of the present invention in conjunction with a standard pail lid, in which
the actuator 3
of the piston pump 2 would be above the planar surface of the pail lid 4. Both
such
approaches are within the intended scope of the present invention.
The embodiment of Figure I shows the piston pump 2 locked in its transport
position,
with the actuator 3 being positioned below the planar surface of the pail lid
4. Typically
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the locking of the actuator 3 into this transport position is achieved by a
threaded
engagement of the actuator 3 with other components of the piston pump 2,
locking it in
its closed-door transport position. To operate the piston pump 2, the actuator
3 would be
unlocked from its transport position, which would result in the spring or
similar
components therein causing the actuator to extend upwards and allow for manual
actuation or pumping.
Referring to Figure 2 there is shown another perspective view of the patent
pail system of
Figure 1 in which the actuator 3 has been unlocked from its transport position
and is
extended above the surface of the pail lid 4. Manual actuation of the pump by
an operator
using the actuator 3 will result in the dispensing of paint from the spout 5,
as shown.
Figure 3 is a cutaway side view of the interior of the paint pail system of
Figure 2. The
downward extending intake tube 6 of the pump 2 is shown, with its intake 7
positioned in
close proximity to the lower interior surface 8 of the pail. In some cases,
the intake 7
might include a spacer 9 extending outwards therefrom, to properly space the
tube 6 and
intake 7 away from the lower interior surface 8 of the pail.
In operation, as shown in Figure 2 and 3, the pump 2 would be actuated by an
operator
.. pressing down on the actuator 3, which would result in piston operation of
the pump 2
and priming and subsequent dispensing of paint from the interior of the pail.
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As outlined, it is specifically contemplated that in certain embodiments such
as that
shown in Figures 1 through 3, the pump 2 could be manufactured or attached in
an
integrated system with the pail 1, and could be manufactured from recyclable
or
disposable materials such that the integrated paint and pump system could be
sold on a
freestanding basis for use and subsequent processing or disposal.
Other embodiments of the present invention comprise a manually actuated piston
pump
for use in conjunction with a large-format paint pail having an engageable
spout opening
in the lid thereof.
In further embodiments of the paint dispensing approach of the present
invention, the
pump 2 could be manufactured such that it could engage the standard form of
spout
opening on pre-manufactured paint pails, for interchangeable use on more than
one pail.
In such a case, the pump 2 would include an attachment mechanism capable of
engaging
the spout opening of a pail. The pump 2 could also be sold with more than one
adapter
rendering it capable of engaging the spout opening of multiple types of pails.
Figure 4
shows one embodiment of a manually actuated piston pump 2 in accordance with
the
present invention which incorporates an adapter 10 for engaging the spout
opening of a
pail. It will be understood that virtually any type of an adapter 10 capable
of attaching the
piston pump 2 of the present invention to the spout opening of the lid of the
paint pail 1
will all be contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
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In the embodiment of Figure 4, the downward extending intake tube 6 is simply
a flexible
hose which when lowered into position within the pail 1 is long enough to
reach the
lower interior surface 8, and with a spacer 9 thereon as shown would simply
bend into an
appropriate position in relation to the lower interior surface 8 to properly
intake paint
from the interior of the pail 1 when the pump 2 was actuated.
In other embodiments of the freestanding piston pump 2 of the present
invention which
could be used in multiple manufactured paint pails 1, a rigid downwardly
extending
.. intake tube 6 could be used with a collapsible bottom section 11 and
spacers 9, again
resulting in the ideal positioning of the intake of the pump 2 in relation to
the lower
interior surface 8 of the pail 1. Figure 6 demonstrates one embodiment of such
a
freestanding piston pump 2 with a rigid downwardly extending intake tube 6
with a
collapsible bottom section 11 and spacers 9. The key elements of the piston
pump 2 of
Figures 5 and 6, for use in the dispensing of paint from a large-format paint
pail, are a
downwardly extending intake tube 6 which is capable of reaching the proximity
of the
lower interior surface 8 of the pail, and a manually actuatable piston pump
which will
allow for the manual dispensing of paint from within the pail 1 to which the
pump 2 is
attached into a related container. The downwardly extending intake tube 6
might be
.. flexible and of sufficient length to reach the proximity of the lower
interior surface 8,
with or without a spacer 9 attached thereto, or it might comprise a rigid
downwardly
extending intake tube 6 with a telescoping or collapsible section 11 at the
bottom thereof
capable of collapsing or telescoping into an appropriate position in relation
to the lower
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interior surface 8. The adapter 10 would be any type of the adapter 10 capable
of
clampably engaging the spout opening or cap opening of the lid 4. One or more
adapters
could be sold along with the remainder of the pump 2 to permit for the
engagement of
multiple types of cap openings. An adapter kit of this nature sold along with
the
5 remainder of the pump 2 is also contemplated to be within the explicit
scope of the
present invention.
Also disclosed is a method of dispensing paint from a large-format paint pail,
using a
freestanding piston pump 2 in accordance with the remainder of the present
invention.
10 The method would comprise using the adapter 10 of the freestanding
piston pump 2 to
fixedly engage the cap opening of the lid 4 of the pail and position the
distal intake of the
downwardly extending intake tube 6 in proximity to lower interior surface 8 of
the pail.
Once the pump 2 is locked in position on the pail with its intake it
appropriate position in
relation to the lower interior surface 8 thereof, the pump 2 is manually
actuated by an
operator, dispensing paint to a container.
It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that by routine modification
the present
invention can be optimized for use in a wide range of conditions and
application. It will
also be obvious to those of skill in the art that there are various ways and
designs with
which to produce the apparatus and methods of the present invention. The
illustrated
embodiments are therefore not intended to limit the scope of the invention,
but to provide
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examples of the apparatus and method to enable those of skill in the art to
appreciate the
inventive concept.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that many more modifications besides
those
already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts
herein. The
inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the
scope of the
appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the
claims, all
terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with
the context.
The terms "comprises" and "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to
elements,
components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced
elements,
components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other
elements,
components, or steps not expressly referenced.
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